Bringing back memories with music

George Austin Editor

Wednesday

May 16, 2018 at 3:01 AM

SOMERSET — Somerset Middle School student Emily Daigle put some head phones that were attached to an iPod on Eleanor Castro, a resident at the Somerset Ridge Center, and teacher Keith Bradley asked her what type of music she wanted to listen to. Castro said she wanted to listen to Elvis Presley and so Daigle called that one up on a play list on the iPod. Castro then started singing along to the King of Rock and Roll's "Love Me Tender."

That is an example of the impact that the Music for Memories Club of Somerset Middle School had on residents at Somerset Ridge Center who have either Alzheimer's disease or some sort of dementia when members of the club visited the center last Wednesday.

The members of the club included Daigle, Emma Feijo, Emma Franco and Nick Reis.

During the school year, the students in the club and Bradley, who is the advisor of the club and a science teacher at Somerset Middle School, collected used iPods and other types of devices that play music from families and staff. They worked with Ann Marie Anunciacao, the activities director at the Somerset Ridge Center, on what types of music the residents at the center liked. The students then researched songs in those musical categories until they got enough of them to make play lists. Five play lists were created. The students then downloaded music into the iPods, creating five play lists of different types of music in each iPod. The types of music included classic country, light rock, doo wop and music from singers, such as Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra.

Last Wednesday, the students brought the iPods to the Somerset Ridge Center where they helped the residents to use them and then donated them to the center. They brought head phones and head phones splitters that could be used so the students and residents could listen to the music on the iPods together. Bradley said they wanted to see if the residents would interact in a way they wouldn't if they were not listening to music.

"I was extremely happy with how everything came out," Bradley said. "The students came in not sure what to expected and they handled themselves well and maturely. The residents seemed to enjoy the music and the interaction."

Bradley said the project helped the students to understand Alzheimer's disease and dementia better and see that they are not scary and that it is great to interact with the residents and see their brains stimulated by the music.

"It just builds community," Bradley said. "We're not going to Rhode Island. We're staying here in Somerset. It's building community between students and these older people."

Bradley said the project helps to improve the quality of life for the residents in the Somerset Ridge Center. He said he wanted to see the residents smiling, singing and enjoying themselves when the students brought the iPods to them and that is what happened.

"I just think it's great for the kids, myself, because they have a sense of accomplishment and work with individuals they may not have a chance to interact with often," Bradley said of the Music for Memories project.

The students were also smiling as they helped the residents to listen to the music.

"I thought it was really cool to see how they reacted to the music and sang and danced along," Franco said.

Bradley said the club collected a dozen iPods for the project. He said a fundraiser was held in which students guessed the amount of M&M candies in a container and the money was used from that fundraiser to purchase songs from itunes for the iPods. They presented five of them to the center last week and Bradley told Anunciacao he would be bringing more over to the center.

One of the staff members at the Somerset Ridge Center said a lot of the residents like music from the Glenn Miller Orchestra. Castro also listened to Presley's "Blue Suede Shoes" and was swaying to the music.

"They connected to themselves and they started to feel the music and have emotions," Feijo said.

Daigle and Franco sang "Best Day of My Life" for the residents as Bradley accompanied them on guitar. Daigle also sang Green Day's "Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)" for the residents.

Reis said that when the residents were listening to the music on the iPods, their expressions changed from just sitting there to looking happier while they were singing the music that they were listening to. Bradley also asked a couple of the residents to dance.

"They were really feeling it and connecting to it," Daigle said of the music the residents listened to on the iPods. "You could see them really reliving listening to it."

Anunciacao said she thought the music program that the students and Bradley brought to the Somerset Ridge Center last week had an impact on the residents.

"I think we can use it further with other residents, so it's a tool we can use with other residents," Anunciacao said. "This was a trial."

Anunciacao said there were nice reactions from both the residents and students during the music program. She said she thought the music brought pleasure and relaxation to the residents.

"It's nice to see the young kids wanting to be a part of this," Anunciacao said. "They seemed to have a nice connection with our residents. The kids were super attentive and it brought joy to them, too."

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